Kooli Tartu

Well, I'm about to sleep for the last time in Tartu (at least for now). I have an early start tomorrow morning, getting up around 8 to make sure I have everything packed. Then I have to see if the security guard downstairs needs to check my room or not, and then it's off to the bus station to head to ...

... before...I think they imported some. Anyway, the weather remained warm when we got back, so that also contributed to Tartu's awakening as spring really seemed to hit this week. Tuesday and Wednesday were relatively quiet except for classes on Wednesday, but once I got on the weekend at about 6 PM Wednesday, it was a great feeling. There are parties happening all over town all week, but I've spent a fair amount of time hanging out in my room or with other internationals, and ...

... standards, sure, but there is almost never a strong wind, so it's a very still and calm coldness. When the sun is out, it adds about 3 or 4 degrees Celsius to the "real" temperature, which really makes sunny days absolutely gorgeous. There will be some rain in spring, but not nearly as much as back home, which is definitely a good thing for me. Basically, the spring semester is the best time to be here. As it gets warmer outside, many Estonians also open up and begin to have more ...

... Wednesday, though, so this weekend will just consist of me waiting for things to pop up. In other news, I attempted to make chili the other day and it turned out...OK. I couldn't find the exact ingredients I was looking for, so it was kind of MacGuyver-esque adventure. The end result was like a weird hybrid of chili, sloppy joes, and spaghetti sauce. It's pretty good, though, and even better with these cheese rolls I got at the store. One of the biggest adjustments to Estonian life has ...

... we had to really hit the stuffing of envelopes hard. So, we went at it with a no nonsense attitude and worked about five hours straight. We made tremendous progress. It felt good going to bed being able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. We watched TV on SlingBox all evening. This device sends our cable TV channels through the Internet to my laptop. So, we watched Fox News while we stuffed.

... chapel by an inmate who has since been released. Now, Valdur leaves his old GN's in the chapel. Valdur had already received the Good News that we mailed just the day before! As the visit closed, we prayed together and look forward to the next time we visit. We took the taxi back to the Apartment. I have really appreciated the use of Jim Franks world phone that is good outside the US. We've been able to use it like a local mobile ...

... and other groups such as the Seventh Day Adventists and the Messianic movement. There were questions about the Holy Days and which other groups keep them. We really appreciated hearing stories about how they came to understand the Truth. It was a most wonderful evening. Robert Schultz is the leader of the Latvian group. He had his entire family with wife Elita and four children along. Then there were four others who came: Antra ...

... of other members, or you might see references to our daily services. I don't want to get too detailed in this blog, but if you want further information about these days, you can go to http://www.ucg.org/about/tabernacles.ht m During the day we basically took it easy and walked around town. Tartu is very much a college city, so you see many young people and also I noticed that Tartu ...

... Georgian cheesebread) and some turkey satsivi (cooked in a walnut and pomegranate paste with a tinge of curry) that was thoroughly filling and satisfying. Now that's something I'd have a tough time tracking down back in Nagoya! So I can now say I've seen more of Estonia than its beloved capital. Tomorrow I'm going to hop across the Gulf of Finland to Helsinki . . . after all, it's so close it'd be silly not to have a look while I'm here.

... of town. We went through processing as visitors. In February of this past year Johnnie conducted a Bible Study for about 35 prisoners. We filled out the official visiting form which was all in Estonian. On a previous visit Johnnie had listed himself as the prisoner to be visited. The prison guard found that amusing. We spent one hour with Valdur. We had to talk to him through a sealed glass ...